Zone Meaning
/zoʊn/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounEach of the five regions of the earth's surface into which it was divided by climatic differences, namely the torrid zone (between the tropics), two temperate zones (between the tropics and the polar circles), and two frigid zones (within the polar circles).
nounAny given region or area of the world.
Sentence Examples
Our combined fleet broke through the enemy's defense zone.
That is a danger zone; don't go there.
There has been a steady flow of refugees from the war zone.
CEFR Practice Quiz
When entering the no-parking ____, drivers must keep moving and cannot stop.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Please make sure that you park your car in the correct ____ to avoid getting a several large and expensive fine today.
Word Origin & History
From Latin zōna, from Ancient Greek ζώνη (zṓnē, “girdle, belt”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"And as two Zones doe cut the Heaven upon the righter side, / And other twaine upon the left likewise the same devide, / The middle in outragious heat exceeding all the rest: / Even so likewise through great foresight to God it seemed best, / The earth encluded in the same should so devided bee […]."
— 1567, Ovid, translated by Arthur Golding, Metamorphoses, section I:
"To avoid which, we will take any pains […]; we will dive to the bottom of the sea, to the bowels of the earth, five, six, seven, eight, nine hundred fathom deep, through all five zones, and both extremes of heat and cold […]."
— 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition I, section 2, member 4, subsection vi:
"And while idle curiosity may take its walk in shady avenues by the ocean side, commerce[…]defies every wind, outrides every tempest, and invades every zone."
— 1841, George Bancroft, History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent, volume 2, page 270:
"Some of the lagoons, said to have subterranean outlets, have no visible ones; the inclosing island, in such cases, being a complete zone of emerald."
— 1847 March 30, Herman Melville, Omoo: A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas; […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC:
"The defender playing at the top of the zone is nine to fourteen metres out from the goal line."
— 1974, Franko Blazic with Zorko Soric, Team Handball, page 31:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
When entering the no-parking ____, drivers must keep moving and cannot stop.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Please make sure that you park your car in the correct ____ to avoid getting a several large and expensive fine today.